Apparatus for simultaneously closing core wires and rope strands into a finished rope



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April 15, 1941. G. E. McnoNALD 2,238,496

APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY CLOSING CORE WIRES AND ROPE STRANDS INTO AFINISHED ROPE 2 6 4L 131415 Z6 29 Z8 33 26 IN VEN TOR. 6201962'/VcoM/JLD Q Z ,l f ATTORNEYS.

April 15, 1941. G. E. McDoNALD APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY CLOSING COREWIRES AND ROPE STRANDS INTO A FINISHED ROPE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed DGO.17, 1938 HW ON NIW QN O G d1' l:i

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IN VEN TOR. @mwE/Va/m ATTORNEYS.

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April 15, 1941. G. E. McDoNALD '2,238,495

APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY CLOSING CORE WIRES AND ROPE STRANDS INTO AFINISHED ROPE l Filed Dec. 17, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Apr. 1'5, i941 APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY CLOS- ING COREWIRES AND ROPE STRANDS INTO A FINISHED ROPE George E. McDonald, `SanFrancisco, Calif., assignor to E. H. Edwards Company, San Francisco,Calif., a corporation of California Application December 17, 1938,Serial No. 246,359

8 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in an apparatus for simultaneouslyclosing core Wires and rope strands into a finished rope, and'itconsists of the combinations, constructions and arrangements hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

The standard procedure in manufacturing rope or is composed of anumberof individual Wires the rope is called a wire strand core rope.When a smaller wire rope is used as'the core, the rope is known as onewith a wire rope center. The present invention deals with themanufacturing of a rope with a wire rope center.

It has been the practice to fabricate the Wire rope center in a separatemachine and in exactly the same way as followed Ilnmaking the finalrope. chines and two complete and separate operations of closing; onemachine or one operation making the wire-core and the other machine oroperation winding the strands around the core. When the rope is made inthis manner, the core wires will not have the same lay as the ropestrands and this will`prevent a uniform stress being applied on all thestrands and core wires when the rope is subjected to a load.l The ropemay therefore break under a less load than it iscapable of handling,should the coreA wires and rope 'strands be provided with the same lay.

The principal object of my invention is to pro-' vide a single machinefor simultaneously winding core wires about a core and for winding ropestrands about the completed core and concentric thereto. This will givethe same lay to the core wires and rope strands because the same pitchor twist is given to the strands by the rotating cage that carries boththe core wires and rope strand bobbins. There is also'no necessityof'using a separate core forming machine nor to fabricate the core in aseparate operation. If desired, a twister head may be applied to themachine for preforming the core wires and rope strands just prior totheir entrance into the closing dies.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

vMy invention is illustrated in the accompan This therefore entails' twoseparate ma r(ci. 57-9) ing drawings forming,r a part` of thisapplication.

in whichv Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete machine;` i vFigure 2 is a planviewof the device; A Figure 3 is an enlarged sectionalView of the core wire carrying bobbins, portions being omitted forclarity; f

Figure 4 is a section along the line 4-4 `ofy Fig. ure 3; v f

Figure 5 is an enlarged `side elevation of the twister head assembly; yFigure' 6 is a sectional view ofthe same assembly on a largerscale,parts being omittedv for clarity; f i

Figure '7 is a section along the line l--Iof Fig-- ure 5; n

Figure 8 is a section along ure'5; and y I l Figure 9 is an enlargedsection along the line 9-9 of Figure 1. 5

In carrying out my invention, I will yfirst de-v scribe the planetaryrope machine portion of thev device, then the core wire carrying bobbin`por-v the une 8,- 8 0f Figtion, and finally the twister head assembly.

Planetary rope machine portion 'I'his portion of the. machine isthe-same'lin many respects as a standard planetary rope- Aformingmachine and therefore only the parts bearing 3, see Figure 9.v The shaftl4 carries a cage 4a whichis formed of three discs 6, 'I'and 8,- all ofwhich are `keyed to the shaft. yThe discs 1 .and 8 are rotatablysupported by rollers l9 and I0. The discs' and 'I rotatably support anumber t of cradles II and bobbins I2 and I haveshownthree such cradlesin the drawings although the.

number may be changed at will. These three cradles I refer to as sectionA of the cage'la. `In like manner, the discs I and 8 rotatably support 1three cradles I3 which in turn carry bobbins Ill.

' These three cradles and bobbins will be referred to as section B ofthe cage. I The cradles in sectionv A are staggered with respect tothose in section B and this is clearly shown in Figure 2. The

j cradles II in section A have pipes I5 connected thereto and theseextend through section B. In like manner, the cradles I3 in section Bhave pipes I6 connected thereto and extending through section A.

The planetary machine has a standard mechanism for causing the cradlesIl and I3 to rotate on their axes or to remain stationary and this isshown by the large gear I1 in Figure 1, and an eccentric ring I8 foracting upon cranks I9 that are operatively connected to the cradles I Iand the pipes I6. This mechanism may be termed a. back twist gearing forthe cradles and is used for holding the cradles against rotation ontheir axes as the cage rotates or for causing the cradles to rotate at adesired speed about their own axes in order to take out the back twistfrom the rope strands being fed from the bobbins I2 and I4. The gear I1is operatively connected to a gear 20 by gearing mechanism not shown,which rotates the cradles on their axes in the desired manner. structionis standard, no further description of it need be given.

'Ihe cage 4a. is rotated lby the shaft 4 and the shaft in turn isconnected to a motor 2| through a gear-reduction mechanism indicatedgenerally at 22 and a chain and sprocket connection indicated at 23.This latter mechanism has a large sprocket keyed to the shaft 4.

The disc 8 has six openings therein, three of these rotatably receivingthe three pipes I and the other three constituting supports for thethree cradles I3. The disc 8 is shown in detail in Figures 3 and 4. Thethree openings 24 in the disc, see Figure 4, receive the pipes I5 whilethe three openings 25 support the cradles I3. see Figure 3. Figure 1shows rope strands 26 feeding from the bobbins I2 and I4 and thesestrands enter openings in the ends IIa and I3a, see Figure 2, of thecradles II and I3 in the usual manner. The strands from the bobbins I2extend through the hollow pipes I5 and are shown centrally disposed inthe pipes in Figure 4. The other rope strands 26, passing through theends I3a of the cradles I3, are seen centrally disposed in pipes 30 thatproject through the openings 25 of Figure 4. It is best now to describethe core wire-carrying bobbins.

Core wire-carrying bobhz'n portion In Figures 1 and 2, I show a disc 21spaced from the disc 8 and forming one end of the cage 4a. The disc 21cooperates with the disc 3 and provides a lcage section C for carryingcore wire-carrying bobbins 28 and cradles 29. The disc. `21 has sixopenings therein for receivingr the pipes I5 which extend from thecradles I3, see Figures 2 and 3. Figure 4 illustrates how the corecradles 29 are mounted between adjacent pipes I5 and 30. The trunnionsrotatably supporting the Icore cradles 29 on the disc 8 extend throughthe disc, see Figure 3, and are provided with sprockets 3I on theirouter ends. Each pipe I5 carries two sprockets and these are connectedto the two adjacent core cradles 29 by sprocket chains 32 that extend tothe sprockets 3I. In this way, the cradles 29 are rotated in the samemanner as the cradles I I and I3. Figure 3 shows how a core wire 33 isfed from the core bobbin 28 through an opening in the disc 21. A sheave34 is positioned adjacent to each opening in the disc 21 through whichthe core wire 33 passes. I provide additional sheaves 34 for the ropestrands 26 that Since this conissue from pipes I5 or 39. fore carriestwelve sheaves.

I mount a collar 35 on the shaft 4 adjacent to the disc 21 and thiscollar carries twelve sheaves 36. The rope strands 26 and core wires 33are fed from the sheaves 34 to the sheaves 36. A gear 31 is mounted onthe shaft 4 adjacent to the collar 35, see Figure 1, and this gearisused for the purpose of actuating a mechanism not shown, for pullingthe completed rope from the machine. The gear 31 has openings, notshown, through which the rope strands and Icore wires 26 and 33 pass.The rope strands and core wires after passing through the openings inthe gear 31 will pass through the aligned openings 5a in the collar 5,see Figure 9, before they reach a twister head now to be described.

Twister head assembly The twister head acts as a preformer for the ropestrands and core wires and is shown in detail in Figure 5. A disc 38 isconnected to the end of the shaft 4 that'projects through the bearing 3and a second disc 39 is secured to the first disc by a plurality ofbolts 48. Both discs 38 and 39 have twelve aligned openings therein andthe openings in the disc 39 carry sleeves 4I that receive the ropestrands and core wires. The sleeves 4I in the disc 39 are inclined forguiding the rope strands and core wires toward The disc 21 thereopeningsin a plate 42 of a preforming head.

The preforming head comprises two plates 42 and 43 and the plate 42 isrotatably adjusted with respect to the disc 39 so that the strands 26and wires 33 will extend at the proper angle between the two. The plates42 and 43 are mounted upon a hollow stub shaft 44 that is carried by thedisc 39. Set screws 45, see Figure 6, are used for holding the plate 42in the desired angular position with respect to the disc 39. The shaft44 is threaded at 46 for disposing the plate 43 the desired distanceaway from the plate 42. Six rods 41 (or as many rods as there are ropestrands) are carried by the two plates and are designed to have the ropestrands 26 Wrapped therearound to preform the strands in the desiredmanner. The rods receiving the core wires are shown at 48 and are spacednearer the preformer head axis. The plate 42 carries -bushings 41aassociated with the rods 41, see

Figures 5y and 7, and these bushings are inclined toward the axes of therods and will guide the rope strands 26 to a position where they .may bewrapped around the rods. Bushings -41b, see Figures 5 and 8, extendthrough the plate 43 and are inclined at an angle to direct the lstrands26 to an entrance opening 49 in a rope strand closing die 59. The plate42 also carries bushings 48a and these bushings receive the core wires33. The bushings are associated with the rods 48 and are inclined towardthe rod axes so as to convey the core Wires toward the rods and permitthem to be wrapped therearound. VAdditional bushings 48h are disposed inthe plate 43 and receive the core wires 33 for vdirecting these wirestoward a core wire closing die 5I threaded upon the end of the shaft 44.The die 5I has six slots 52 therein for receiving the core wires. Onlyone of earch of the bushings 41a, 41h, 46a and 48h are shown in Figure 5for the purpose of clarity.

At this point it is well to mention that a core for the core rope is fedfrom a drum 53, see Figures 1 and 2 and a core 54 passes through thecenter of the hollow shaft 4 and-also through the hollow stub shaftl'44,.r 'Il'he'core wires 33 are The completed core rope indicated at54a, see Figure 5, then pass-es from the lcore closing die I into therope strand closing die 50. The rope' strands 26 are Wrapped around thecore rope 54a and are pressed into place by the closing die 50. 'Ihecompleted rope 26a then'issues from the die 50 and is pulled onto a ropestoring mechanism, not shown, this mechanism being actuated by the gear31. In Figure 1 I show the die 50 mounted on a support 56 which in turnis adjustable on a platform 51. v i

In Figure 7, I show how the bushings 41a and 48a. are arranged'withrespect to the rods 41 and 48 'and in Figure 8 Ishow how the Ibushings4117 and 48D in the plate 43 are associated with the same rods. 'Iheplate 42 is adjusted' angularly with respect to the disc 39 and the wirestrands will extend from the disc 39 at an ang-le whichsis substantiallythe same angle as .the bushings 41a and 48a. The strands 26 and wires 33will therefore move onto the rods 41 4and 48 at the required angle andthe strands :and Wires can be twisted -around the rods inthe mannershown in Figure 5. The bushings 41h and 48h are then inclined fordirecting the strandsand wires toward the die 50 and the die 5Irespectively. I have found that in making a rope 5A; of an inch indiameter, the lay should be, four inches and this means that the plates42 and 43 should be `disposed four inches apart. The rods 41. and 48should be approximately 4of an inch in diameter. `If the rope isincreased to of an inch, the plates42 and 43 are spaced 4.8 inches apartand 1/2 inch rods are used. The increasing of the rope to .78 inch invdiameter WilLrequire a spacing ofmthe plates 42 and 43, 5.6 inches.apart and the diameter of ythe rods 41 and 48 will be 7; of an inch,while a one inch rope will require a lay of six inches or a similardistance Abetween the plates 42 and 43 and the rods will be increased to3A, of an inch in diameter.

Operation From the foregoing description of the various parts of thedevice, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

The wire rope strands 26 are placed on the bobbins and the bobbins inturn are mounted in the cradles. The core wires 33 are wound on thebobbins 28 and these -bobbins are placed in the cradles 29. The core 54for the core rope is fed from the drum 53 and is passed through thehollow shafts 4 and 44 and also through the' dies 5I and 50. The strands26 from the bobbins I2 are passed through the pipes I5 to the disc 21and the strands from the .bobbins I4 are passed through the pipes 30 tothe same disc. The core wires 33 extend through openings in the disc 21and therefore the disc has vtwelve openings for the six rope strands andthe six core Wires. The six rope strands and six core wires are passedover the sheaves 34 and then d-own .to sheaves 36 and finally are passedthrough openings in the gear 31 and the collar 5. The strands and wiresthen extend through the discs 38 and 39 of the twister head assembly anddown to the plates v42 and 43. The plates are adjusted with respect toeach other and with respect to the disc 39 for preformng the strands inthe desired manner. It is obvious that the preforming feature may bedispensed with should it be desired to wind the f' oore wires and therope strands for simultaneously forming the rope. f

'I'he machine is started 2I and the bobbins I2, I4 and 28 feed out therope and core Wires as required. The cage carrying the bobbins 'isrotated during this operation and therefore the core wires 33 will bewrapped around the core 54 and the rope strands' will be wrapped aroundthe vcompleted core 54a. The rope -260i is pulled from the die 50. Sincethe same rotation of the cage will wrap the core wires and then the ropestrands to form the rope, both the strands and wires will have the samelay and lthe rope strands Will be concentric to the core wires. Thisresults in a rope .that will provide .a more uniform distribution of thestress under a load and therefore a very much improved rope. 'Ihesimultaneous winding of the core Wires and the rope strands permits bothoperations to be performed in one machine at one time, thusmat-eriallyreducing the `cost of manufacturing the rope. The device can make useofthe twister head when it is desired to preform the strands and corewires.

While I have shown only the preferred form `of my invention, it shouldbe understood that various changes or modifications may be made within.the scope of the appended claims Without departing from the spirit ofthe invention'.V

Iclaim: f.

1. A device of the type described comprising a rotatable cage, core wireand rope strand carrying bobbins suDpOrted bythe cage, means for feedinga core for the core wiresthrough the device, a twister head forpreforming the core wires andthe rope strands, and means for rotatingthe cage` for wrapping the preformed core wires around the core, and forwrapping the preformed rope strands around the completed core, therotating cage giving the same lay to both core wires and rope strands.

2. In a device of the type described, a twister head for simultaneouslypreforming core and.

rope ywires strands and comprising a plurality of members for receivingcore wires, means for guiding core wires on to and away from the membersfor causing the wires to coil about the members to the desired extent, asecond plurality of members for receiving rope strands, and means forguiding rope strands on to and away from the members in a manner topreform the rope strands.

3. A twister headjfcr simultaneously preforming core wires and ropestrands and comprising, a pair of adjustable supports, two groups ofcoil forming members carried by the supports, means carried by thesupports for leading core Wires on to and away from one group ofmembers, the wires being wound around the members between the supportsfor imparting a preforming coil to the wires, and means for leading ropestrands on to and away from the second group of members for causing themembers to preform the vrope strands in a predetermined manner.

4. In a twister head for preforming core Wires and rope strands, a pairof supports, coil forming members carried by the supports, guidescarried by one of the supports and being equal in number to the members,each guide being associated with a member and having its axis inclinedltoward the member axis, one group of members being adapted to have corewires coiled therearound and another group of members being adapted tohave rope strands coiled therearound, and a second group of core wireand strand guides carried by by means of the :motor the other supportand associated with the outlet ends of said members, said second groupof guides receiving the preformed core Wires and rope strands from themembers.

5. In a machine for simultaneously preforming and winding core wires andrope strands into a rope, a twister head for preforming both core wiresand rope strands, coil forming members constituting a part of the head,means for leading the core wires and the rope str-ands onto the members,a core forming die carried by the head, means for moving a core throughthe die, means for leading core Wires from certain of said members tothe die, means for rotating the head and die for wrapping the corestrands around the core at a position immediately preceding the die, a

second die for receiving the completed core, and

means for leading rope strands from the remaining members to the seconddie, the rotation of the head causing the rope strands to wind aroundthe completed core with the same lay as the core wires, said second dieconstituting a closing die for the rope strands.

6. A twister head assembly for preforming rope strands and core wiresland comprising a rotatable member, rope strand and core wire guidescarried by the member for receiving rope strands and core wires, a pairofplates spaced from each other and from the member, a hollow shaftcarried by the member and supporting the plates, said shaft receiving acore for a core rope, rods carried yby the plates and adapted to haverope strands and core wires therearound for preforming the strands andwires, a second group of rope strand and core wires guides carried bythe plate nearest the member and equal in number to the number of rods,each of said last-named guides being inclined toward the rod axisassociated therewith for guiding the rope strands and core wires ontothe rods, the first group of guides being equal in number to the secondgroup and being inclined for causing the rope strands and core wirestoextend at such an angle between the member and adjacent plateas toform the proper lay between the plates, a core strand closing diecarried by the hollow shaft, guides carried by the second plate fordirecting the rope strands and core wires toward the last-named die,whereby a rotation of the head will wrap preformed core Wires around thecore and preformed rope strands around the completed core.

'7. In a rope forming machine, a rotatable cage including a hollowshaft, means for feeding a core for a core rope through the shaft, ropestrand and core wire carrying bobbins, supported by the cage, means forrotating the cage for initially wrapping the core wires around the coreand then for wrapping the rope strands around the completed core, andmeans for preforming both core wires Iand rope strands just prior towrapping them to form the complete rope, said preforming means givingthe same lay to both core wires and rope strands.

8. In a rope forming machine, a rotatable cage including a hollow shaft,means for feeding a core for a core rope through the shaft, rope strandand core wire carrying bobbins, supported by the cage, means forrotating the cage for initially wrapping the core wires around the coreand .then for wrapping the lrope strands around the completed core, andmeans for preforming both the core wires and rope strands just prior towrapping them to form the complete rope, said preforming means givingthe same lay to both core Wires and rope strands, said core wire andrope strand preforming means including two plates adjustable toward andaway from each other to provide the proper lay, and including rodsaround which the core wires and rope strands are Wrapped while the corewires and rope strands pass between the plates.

' GEORGE E. MCDONALD.

